JBNU will actively implement a large-scale, employment-linked Industry-University Cooperation program with major domestic defense companies and related institutions to cultivate advanced defense industry specialists who will lead the future of the Korean defense industry. 

JBNU announced that on June 26 it signed mutual agreements at the University Headquarters Conference Room with major domestic defense companies and related organizations, including Hyundai Rotem, KAI, LIG D&A, HS Hyosung Advanced Materials, Danam Systems, Deck Carbon, DN Solutions, Lotech, Bristone, Vinatech, I3 Systems, Alufos, Poongsan FNS, CAMTIC Institute of Technology, and Hansil Apparel, to operate a "Defense Industry Customized Talent Development and Employment-Linked Cooperation Program."

This agreement was prepared to develop "job-ready defense industry specialists" with the practical skills demanded by industry and to connect that training to industry–university scholarship students, internships, field training, and employment-linked programs, based on JBNU's proactively established defense industry education infrastructure. 

Under the agreement, JBNU and the participating companies and organizations plan to operate industry–university scholarship and internship linkage programs targeting students enrolled in defense-related departments such as the Department of Advanced Defense Industry (undergraduate), Defense Industry Convergence Major (undergraduate), participating departments in the Defense Industry Convergence Major (master's and doctoral), and the Advanced AI Defense Industry Convergence Department (master's and doctoral), as well as those who complete professional educational programs such as the "Defense AI Boot Camp." 

In particular, this program will be implemented in a way that actively reflects each company's talent profile and advanced technical training needs within JBNU's curriculum. Participating companies will take part in opening company-linked courses, delivering guest lectures, holding seminars, supervising capstone design projects, providing joint mentorship, and offering on-site training so that students can develop the problem-solving abilities and practical sensibilities required in actual defense industry settings. 

JBNU will select industry–university scholarship students according to the needs of each participating company. Companies will provide scholarships, internships, field training, and employment-linked opportunities to students who meet program completion requirements and hiring qualifications. Through this, students will gain hands-on experience in defense company workplaces while enrolled, and companies will gain an early means to identify and validate outstanding talent.

This agreement is significant as a flexible industry–university cooperation model that moves beyond the standardized talent-development approach of existing contract departments, allowing the university and companies to autonomously design curricula, internships, scholarships, and employment-linkage processes together.

In practice, leading universities such as MIT and Purdue, together with global defense firms including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Thales, and SAAB, operate talent-development programs that combine collaborative research, corporate-linked curricula, paid field training, internships, and employment-linkage to secure defense specialists. 

Through this agreement, JBNU plans to implement these advanced global industry–university cooperation practices in accordance with domestic defense industry conditions and to establish a practical talent-development model aligned with on-site defense industry demands.

A representative from one participating defense company said, "It is a very meaningful initiative for a university to proactively reflect a company's personnel and technical needs and provide customized education. From a company's perspective, it will also enable early identification and recruitment of highly adaptable, outstanding talent, and we expect this to become a practical industry–university cooperation model in which both universities and companies grow together."

President Yang Oh-bong emphasized, "JBNU has the optimal platform to cultivate tailored defense industry talent required by companies, based on specialized curricula in advanced defense industry fields and excellent research and educational infrastructure. Going forward, centered on advanced defense departments, we will systematically develop the specialized personnel needed by leading K-defense companies and build a successful industry–university cooperation model in the defense sector at the level of advanced countries." 

Meanwhile, JBNU is expanding specialization in the advanced defense industry field by expanding the Department of Advanced Defense Industry and convergence majors, Defense AI educational programs, and practice-oriented curricula based on industry–university cooperation. Leveraging this agreement, JBNU plans to further strengthen its role as a key talent-development hub that will lead the regional and national defense industry ecosystem.